North Dakota IT department taps new cybersecurity head

Kevin Ford will begin his new role with the Department of Information Technology in two weeks.

Written By: Jeremy Turley
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Nov 7th 2019 - 12pm.

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Kevin Ford will start his new role as chief information security officer in about two weeks.

BISMARCK — The North Dakota Department of Information Technology announced Thursday, Nov. 7, the hiring of new man in charge of cybersecurity.

Kevin Ford will begin his new job as chief information security officer in about two weeks, according to a news release. Ford will be responsible for overseeing information security and cyber-risk management practices for public and private clients.

The Maryland native was working in a similar role for CyberGRX, a Denver-based cybersecurity startup, prior to taking the job. He has also worked as a consultant for professional services corporation Deloitte and a cyber-risk manager for NASA.

Shawn Riley, the department's chief information officer, said Ford's expertise would help protect North Dakota from cybersecurity threats.

"Kevin’s deep, holistic knowledge of enterprise security is a great asset to our team and we’re looking forward to welcoming him and continuing to grow our whole-of-government approach to cybersecurity,” Riley said.

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Ford earned bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Maryland. He replaces Sean Wiese, who took over a new position at the state's Cyber Operations Center.